Photos: Kate Walsh is fit, fabulous and posing nude for Shape at 44

Vancouver Sun02.22.2012

Kate Walsh is fabulous at 44 – so much so that she’s happy to pose nude on the cover of the March issue of Shape magazine. The Private Practice star says she has never felt healthier, and loves being ‘confident and sexy’ at 44.Vancouver Sun
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Kate Walsh is fabulous at 44 – so much so that she’s happy to pose nude on the cover of the March issue of Shape magazine. The Private Practice star says she has never felt healthier, and loves being ‘confident and sexy’ at 44.'
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The nude shoot was Walsh’s idea: ‘I was terrified, but I really wanted to do a naked cover - especially with Shape because the magazine is about loving yourself inside and out.’Getty Images
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‘Right now, I feel really healthy, confident, and sexy. I'm enjoying my 40's and wanted to share that. Is it a midlife crisis? I do drive a Porsche, so maybe it is!’Getty Images
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She feels much better as a redhead than as a blonde, her natural colour. ‘I highlighted [my hair] to keep it blonde for a long time. And let me tell you, I got so much more attention from men. I felt like an imposter before. I'm stronger and sassier as a redhead. It's much more me.’Getty Images
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What about plastic surgery? For her, a big no. ‘We live in a strange time when getting plastic surgery is as common as dyeing your hair, but in my profession, I need a malleable face.’Getty Images
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On plastic surgery for others: ‘Everyone has her line in the sand. I draw mine at facials and laser treatments. But if others want to go a step further, it’s their call.’Getty Images
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Walsh, who has tried Atkins and the cabbage soup diet in the past, is done with dieting. ‘I’d rather have a smaller serving of something amazing than a plateful of diet food.’Getty Images
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Walsh quit smoking cold turkey three years ago: ‘I'll admit it, I used to love smoking. But from a health perspective, it's a no-brainer. I lost my father to lung cancer when I was 22. When I stopped, everyone told me it would be great and that I would feel amazing, but I didn’t. I missed it.’File
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What kind of man turns her on? Ricky Gervais over George Clooney, any day.Getty Images
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On the inspiration for her new perfume, Billionaire Boyfriend: ‘My boyfriend and I broke up and it was, “Oh, I miss him. I miss that scent.” How do you put an emotion and a feeling and a memory in a bottle and also make it delicious so that everyone wants to wear it?’WENN
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On healthcare reform in the U.S.: 'Yahoo! It's a great start ... I used to have to go to Canada to get sick!'Charley Gallay
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